Pom Poko is one of the few Ghibli movies that I am not a fan of. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and felt that Nausicaa and Mononoke covered the whole man v. nature theme on a grander scale. I also though it lacked that Ghibli "magic" that made me fall in love with many of the studio's other titles. I ended up reading your entire write-up because you began by saying that you loved the movie. I was interested to get a glimpse of it through your eyes. I can tell you put a significant amount of thought into your words and your essay is definitely well-written. I also can't disagree on most of the points you made and don't think one can argue that Pom Poko's message isn't delivered by the end of the movie. My problem is a message is all I got by the time the credits rolled. I had realized that I hadn't enjoyed the movie itself. It just seems like the writers came up with a message they wanted to convey and attempted to make a story fit around it. By prioritizing the message over everything else I think the rest of the movie falls flat and ultimately lessens it's impact. You mentioned Princess Mononoke, a movie that I believe did a far better job at both message and entertainment. There is no doubt that Mononoke also delivered a powerful message pertaining to humans and nature. However, by the end of the movie I actually cared about each side of the conflict. The humans, nature, and the "middle man" all made valid points. The characters were brought to life through fantastic animation and well-written dialogue (two things I felt Pom Poko was lacking). In Pom Poko the humans are forgettable, somewhat understandable because the main characters are the Tanukis, but the Tanukis are not all that interesting either. I felt in terms of animation and personality they were mostly interchangeable (with few exceptions). Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading your piece and am not trying to convince you or anyone else that Pom Poko is bad or not worth watching. I am just saying that I can understand why this is not one of the more popular Ghibli movies.

DISCLAIMER: popularity does not necessarily reflect the quality of art.

Pom Poko is one of the few Ghibli movies that I am not a fan of. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and felt that Nausicaa and Mononoke covered the whole man v. nature theme on a grander scale. I also though it lacked that Ghibli "magic" that made me fall in love with many of the studio's other titles. I ended up reading your entire write-up because you began by saying that you loved the movie. I was interested to get a glimpse of it through your eyes. I can tell you put a significant amount of thought into your words and your essay is definitely well-written. I also can't disagree on most of the points you made and don't think one can argue that Pom Poko's message isn't delivered by the end of the movie. My problem is a message is all I got by the time the credits rolled. I had realized that I hadn't enjoyed the movie itself. It just seems like the writers came up with a message they wanted to convey and attempted to make a story fit around it. By prioritizing the message over everything else I think the rest of the movie falls flat and ultimately lessens it's impact. You mentioned Princess Mononoke, a movie that I believe did a far better job at both message and entertainment. There is no doubt that Mononoke also delivered a powerful message pertaining to humans and nature. However, by the end of the movie I actually cared about each side of the conflict. The humans, nature, and the "middle man" all made valid points. The characters were brought to life through fantastic animation and well-written dialogue (two things I felt Pom Poko was lacking). In Pom Poko the humans are forgettable, somewhat understandable because the main characters are the Tanukis, but the Tanukis are not all that interesting either. I felt in terms of animation and personality they were mostly interchangeable (with few exceptions). Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading your piece and am not trying to convince you or anyone else that Pom Poko is bad or not worth watching. I am just saying that I can understand why this is not one of the more popular Ghibli movies.

DISCLAIMER: popularity does not necessarily reflect the quality of art.

Oh, I definitely agree with you. Nausicaa and Mononoke do a brilliant job of exploring those important themes. Though, I wanted to tackle Pom Poko simply because it was on a smaller, more inclusive scale. It doesn't deal with the whole 'world ending as we know it' theme (not that it's anything at all negative). And, in some respects I really enjoy the more grounded nature of it, and the community spirit that is shown with those who are fighting for Tama Hills. I do love it, probably just as much as I love Ghibli's other films. Maybe it's because I've always had a soft spot for things that often slip slightly under the radar.

And, I do have to agree with you on characters. I think the majority of other Ghibli films do a better job of connecting us to them in a meaningful way. Though, I did enjoy Gonta as a character. He seemed to have the most spirit out of all of them.

I really appreciate you reading and giving your view point; I love that.